Trolley-arm for electric railways



(No Model.)

S. H. SHORT.

TROLLEY ARM FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

Patented Dec niirnn Srarns .a'rnnrr rricn.

SIDNEY H. SHORT, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

TIFtQLLEY ARIVI FOR ELECTRRC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 595,080, dated December '7, 1897.

Application filed September Z6, 1896. Serial No. 607,113. (No model.)

To (0% whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, SIDNEY H. SHORT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley'Arms for Electric Railways; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain improvements in the construction of that kind of a trolley-arm which when in service has no lateral movement relative to the car on which it is secured and which has at its upper end a long flangeless roller for making contact with the overhead conductor.

The trolley-arm and its essential characteristics are fully described in another application, Serial No. 607,111, filed September 26, 1896.

lVhen a car having such a trolley is moving toward a point at which a branch wire converges toward and joins the main wire, it is necessary for the roller traveling in contact with the main wire to pass beneath the branch wire before reaching the point where said wires join. If the branch wire sags below the level of the main wire, the said branch wire will first contact with the side of the trolleyarm, and unless some means are provided for lifting said branch wire onto the roller either the branch wire or the trolley-arm is likely to be broken. Moreover, when the car is moving in the opposite direction past a point from which a branch wire and the main conductorwire diverge the roller moves beneath and in contact with both wires for a short distance and until the two wires diverge so much that one wire runs off the end of the roller. If the wire which so runs off is loose and is permitted to drop abruptly from the roller, it will strain and rack the wiring and is apt to break some part of the wires or their fastenings.

The object of my invention is to provide a construction of the trolley-arm by means of which a sagging branch wire will be lifted automatically onto the roller or be allowed to sink slowly to its normal position after it runs off the roller, as the case may be.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter de scribed and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front View, and Fig. 2 is a side view, of the upper end of a trolley-arm constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, partly in section, of one end of the roller and one end of one of the trolleyforks; and Fig. 4: is a front elevation of one side of the upper end of a trolley-arm having a modified construction.

The main trolley-arm is indicated by A. The upper end of the arm is bifurcated, and the ends of the flangeless horizontal transverse roller B are mounted, preferably, upon the ball-bearings in the ends of the fork-arms a a thus formed. At the upper ends of the trolley-forks are two arms a a, which are downwardly and outwardly inclined from their upper ends. These arms may be independent pieces secured to the trolley-forks, or they may be the turned-over ends of said forks, both of which constructions are illustrated in Fig. 4. In what I regard as the best construction, however, these inclined arms a a are the converging upper ends of the two forks a a, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

The inclined arms a to extend as far below the top of the roller as the distance which any branch wire C will sag below the main conductor-wire Csay eight or nine inches, more or less.

111 the best construction for the upper end of the trolley-arm, as shown by full lines in Fig. l, the forks a a diverge equally and laterally from the main arm A at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees to each other. They are then bent so that their upper ends a a converge and incline inward.

The construction indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 1, which show the parts a a of the forks in a horizontal position, may be employed, if desired. The construction shown by the full lines is, however, preferred as a practical construction. The connection between the two forks a a and the main arm A is made through a Y-shaped piece (F, the three arms of which are socketed to receive the upper end of the main arm A and the lower ends of the forks a a.

On the forks a a are preferably formed or secured brush-holding brackets a to which are secured in any appropriate manner the brushes D, which contact With the surface of the roller B.

-When the trolley is moving toward a point Where two converging Wires C O are united, the branch Wire 0, if it sags, strikes the side of one of the inwardly-inclined arms a, and

' it gradually slides up said inclined arm onto the roller. After passing a point from which two conductor-Wires diverge the branch Wire rides upon the roller a short distance, then runs off its end onto one of the inclined arms a a, down which it slides gradually to its normal position. In order that these results may be secured Without danger of having the conductor-Wires catch against the edge of the roller in one case or against the top of the forks in the other case, the tops of the forks are formed so as to be in the same horizontal plane With the top surface of the roller When in service.

On the inner edge of the upper end of each fork is formed a thin ear a the inner face of which is at right angles to the axis of the roller.

The spindle or shaft F on Which the roller is mounted extends through these ears and is secured to them by external nuts f, which do not extend out as far as the outer surface of the arms a ct, wherefore arms a a hold the branch Wire 0 out of contact with said nuts and spindle. This construction permits the roller to be mounted on ball-bearings on the spindle F, and it also holds the fork ends a a in fixed relation to each other Without danger that the nuts used to fasten said spindle to the arms Will catch on the branch Wires.

Having described my invention, I claim The combination of a trolley-arm, and two fork-arms with the Y-shaped connection a uniting said arm and fork-arms, and a roller mounted in the upper ends of said fork-arms, substantially as and for the purpose specified. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

SIDNEY H. SHORT. WVitnesses:

E. L. THURSTON, E. GILoHRIsT. 

